not a specialist but I can't understand how this happened... did you use braces?

PS: in the photos you dont have recessed chin, but I'm couting that you are pushing forward as you said in the second photo.

I don’t understand either. Yes I had a full set of braces and retainer from age about 10-16. I had perfect teeth and jaw for years. 

I am only pushing jaw forward in photo B yes, but in the blue background photos that was my natural bite at rest in 2014.... for clarification. 

I’m trying to seek specialists but the one I already saw told me I was just aging (that went over really poorly with me) and I’m trying to find specialists who can actually help me, not make me feel worse and tell me what they can’t do.

I am willing to travel wherever it takes to find a competent practitioner who can help me non-surgically. If you know of anyone please share!

Posted by: rabbithole

when I push my lower jaw forward 

Do you normally jut your jaw forward?

No. The blue background pics were me at baseline, That was my natural bite at rest 

I only did so in photo B to demonstrate the jaw recession 

This looks like bone loss to me. Not to say that your tongue tie isn't involved--it could be. But other issues to consider are your nutrient uptake, your hormone levels, whether you eat a lot of nutrient dense foods that don't require you to chew, like protein shakes and smoothies, if you bolt your food, if you have any gut conditions that are preventing nutrient absorption, thyroid disorders, chronic inflammatory diseases that are common and often undiagnosed in young women like Lupus, chronic Lyme, or Hashimoto's disease...

Bone loss can occur in young women, and it's not always because of periodontitis or ageing, although those are the most common things people think of. A lot of health conditions can create the same effect. Thin white women are at highest risk of early bone loss, and it looks like you are in that demographic. When the bones of the whole face atrophy in the absence of gum disease, the upper arch has a particular look: the gums are healthy, but the gums above the teeth are noticeably narrower than the teeth themselves, giving a downward-and-outward flare appearance to the teeth. How would you feel about sharing a photo of your dental arch?

I do have some health issues which I am working on. From your description I can’t tell if my gums to teeth ratio are as you describe. Do you have any advice if you think bone loss is the case? Is there anything to do for it other than surgery?

I don't see the shape that I'm thinking of--but that wouldn't have been diagnostic in any case, and I'm not a professional. Your gum health looks fantastic, by the way.

I wouldn't consider surgery at all, to be honest, at least for now. I would begin by: figure out your health issues (especially if they have to do with gut and/or inflammation) get your tongue tie resolved including myofunctional therapy, and look at nutritional and exercise strategies to build bone density; strontium, Vitamin D+K, drynaria,  and weight bearing exercise. In the case of facial bones, that means lots of firm chewy foods and maybe hard gum.

Currently starting the root cause protocol. Have appointments to get tongue tie released. 

Thanks for your input, this has been incredibly stressful to not recognize myself anymore, so I appreciate all the help I can get. I’m just looking forward to putting it behind me and learning from it.

Good luck!

One thing that might help you feel better in the mean time, is facial exercises/face yoga. It's great for adding volume to the face. I started working on exercises for marionette lines and shortening the philtrum, and my upper lip is noticeably fuller and more prominent. My jowls reduced in about a week, and I probably spend a total of 5 minutes a day working on it.

My favorite teacher is Koko Hayashi. Her videos are pretty short and to the point, and she includes a lot of hands-free exercises that can be done while driving. Peta of Facerobics is also good, but her exercises tend to require hands on the face. I just did a quick search and saw that Koko has a number of videos on the chin, jaw and jowl. Even if you don't have the wrinkle patterns mentioned, building muscle in the area might help fill out the area and make it look more like you're used to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaJttQbxNaI